New high school football season brings plenty of questions

Sep. 10, 2013

Kinnelon had a case for best team last season. / FILE PHOTO

Written by

For NJ Press Media

The 2013 high school football season is upon us. There are plenty of questions regarding the upcoming campaign. Here are 10 of them:

1. Of the six new coaches in Morris County, who will have the most success in 2013?

In all my years of covering Morris football (since 1991, if you’re scoring at home) I believe that is the most new coaches entering any single season. Notice I didn’t say “rookie” coaches. Bill Carpluk has returned to the sidelines at Mendham, where he resigned from coaching following the 2005 season and was 116-49 (.703) during his tenure, with six IHC-Hills Division championships and six sectional finals appearances. Mendham had just two losing seasons during his time at the helm.

Longtime coach Phil McGuane is new at Parsippany after coaching for a while at Dunellen and South Plainfield. Don Morgenroth moves to Montville from Chatham, which hired trusted Morgenroth assistant Jason Izsa to replace him. Jared Luciani takes over at Mount Olive, where he takes over for his father Garry. Another one of Garry Luciani’s sons, Jason, is the new head man at Butler.

Of those six, I suspect Butler’s Luciani will have the most on-field success because the Bulldogs are an established, strong Group I program. I think Carpluk will do a good job at Mendham, but the Minutemen might struggle in the NJAC-National, which is infinitely stronger than the teams Carpluk competed against in the old IHC-Hills. McGuane’s hiring drew raves from some esteemed coaches in Morris County last March.

Will that result in plenty of wins for Mendham and Parsippany? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean the Carpluk and McGuane hirings aren’t good ones. As we all know, a coach’s worth is what he does with what he has to work with, not his overall won-loss percentage.

2. How long will Madison continue its dominance in the NJAC-Freedom and in North 2 Group II?

The Dodgers have a 37-game winning streak but suffered huge graduation losses. My guess is that they will contend in both the league and in their section, but that they won’t go undefeated in 2013. The Dodgers toughest regular-season opponents figure to be Hanover Park (at Madison on Sept. 28), Jefferson (at Jefferson on Oct. 18), and Lenape Valley (at Madison on Oct. 26). The leading contenders in North 2 Group II: Madison, Hanover, Lincoln, Mountain Lakes, Caldwell.

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3. Who else from Morris County will be in the hunt for a sectional title?

Two-time returning champion Madison was a definite, no-doubt-about-it, sure-fire favorite to win its section last year. This year … well, there is not a single Morris team that returns the same talent and skill level that the Dodgers returned in 2012. That doesn’t mean Morris will be shut out in December. Here are some programs that can be expected to make their presence felt in the playoffs: Butler in Group I, Hanover, Madison and Mountain Lakes in Group II, Parsippany Hills in Group III, Randolph in Group IV, and Delbarton in Non-Public Group III.

4. Which Morris County team is the best?

One word: Delbarton. The Green Wave were the best Morris team last year and finished the year No. 1 in the Daily Record’s Final Top 10. True, Delbarton lost in the Non-Public Group III championship game to St. Joseph-Montvale last year, but that level of football is miles above that of the public school and losing to Joe’s shouldn’t take away from the fact the Wave beat two sectional champions (Roxbury and West Morris) along the way and went undefeated in the rugged NJAC-National.

5. Which Morris school will be Team of the Year?

Delbarton was the best school, but not the Team of the Year, in 2012. That honor went to Madison, and Kinnelon was also very deserving. Team of the Year, to me, should go to the school that either accomplishes the most with what it has, or has some kind of breakthrough year. Madison won its third straight sectional title and rides into 2013 on a New Jersey-high 37-game winning streak. Kinnelon came up very clutch in the playoffs, winning its first three playoff games and first-ever state title – even though there were precious few people (if any) who thought the Colts would win even one playoff game. In many other years, what Kinnelon did would have been enough to garner Team of the Year.

6. How are the NJAC races shaping up?

Until further notice, Delbarton has to be the favorite in the National, while Pope John is the team to beat in the American. Madison is the pick to win the Freedom, but don’t sleep on Lenape Valley, which has gone toe-to-toe with the Dodgers before losing two barnburners the last two years. And don’t forget about Hanover Park, which has a veteran squad. In the Independence, Mountain Lakes is the favorite to win once again.

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7. Will Sussex County continue to outplay Morris County in head-to-head matchups?

After three years of Sussex overwhelming Morris head-to-head since the berth of the NJAC, Morris was 29-23 against Sussex last year. Sussex now holds a 105-83 bulge against Morris head-to-head. For many years of following both counties closely, I never would have thought that possible. Morris was significantly better, but that simply has not been the case since for the forming of the NJAC.

8. We give up: Is the NJSIAA trying to humor us with its consolation game matchups?

There is simply no other way to explain it. What else can be said about such ridiculous consolation matchups as Pequannock-Manchester, Boonton-Emerson, Whippany Park-Metuchen and Parsippany-Fort Lee? Any of you rush to get tickets for those games? Does Morristown-Kearny float your boat? Did Chatham-Cliffside Park leave you clamoring for more? Are you mad that you couldn’t find the time to attend Morris Knolls-Passaic, Montville-Fair Lawn or Mendham-Plainfield? Why, oh why, does the NJSIAA continue to bus Morris high school football players all over creation to face schools they have never heard of when they can simply localize consolation matchups?

Would NJAC crossover consolation games involving Morris schools (Boonton-Parsippany, Morristown-Morris Knolls, etc.) bring about the end of humanity? Is there something in the U.S. Constitution that says same-sized schools MUST oppose one another in NJSIAA-sanctioned consolation games? I just don’t get it.

9. Will the state playoffs go down to one champion per group?

It sure looks that way. There is a vote coming in December, and it appears that there is a growing sentiment toward going to one group champion, beginning in 2014. The plan calls for the elimination of bye weeks (hooray!) but for the 2014 season to begin Labor Day weekend (which is terrific, if you want summer vacation shortened by one week).

There are two schools of thought, both of which have a valid point.

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One says, “How much football is enough? Since when are we Texas when it comes to high school football?” Think about Madison, West Morris, Kinnelon or Roxbury last season. Those kids walked off the field as state champions. But if they played one week later and then lost … well, they ended their season as losers. Does that ruin their season? I think it tarnishes their accomplishments.

The other thinking says, “Pretty much every other state goes down to one Group champion. Why is New Jersey so behind the times? Think of how captivating it would be if we could have four straight overall Group championship games at Rutgers Stadium.” A quadruple header would be a terrific spectacle, I agree.

If this does pass in New Jersey, it wouldn’t be the end of civilization as we know it. It would make for a wild, exciting time for high school football lovers around New Jersey.

10. Are there any All-State candidates from Morris County in 2013?

The first name that jumps out to me is Dover running back George Scalley, a sure-fire Division 1 recruit who has simply been dominant for the Tigers over two years.